Following the community debate at Banteay Meanchey Province, another community debate in Phum Sen Sereimonkol, Khum Kraya, Srok Santok, Kompong Thom Province was held on October 11, 2019. The event was participated by 82 fellow commune residents with 49 women aged 24 to 83 years old.
Great speeches and strong defenses with various sources of evidence were presented by the six debaters from both teams and contributed to the smooth flow of the event. Not just the group of debaters gave their speeches but the participants as audience also involved in the discussion and expressed their opinions during the “Question and Answer Session”. Moreover, the whole debate was productively
engaged by the local authorities who played the role in giving the opening speech, as a guest speaker, as a judge, and in closing the debate. Closing the event with the greatest support from the local authorities and warmly welcomed by the local people, CCIM successfully organized the event with the participation of the community.
Great thing to notice is the statement of the local authorities that the commune where the event was conducted never ever had this kind of event related to gender mainstreaming before. Both local authorities and community people requested CCIM to provide more events or training to the local authorities and the community. Also, the parents of young debaters (high school and university students) appreciated CCIM for providing the training and encouraging their children to be brave and dare to speak up in front of the audience and the high-profile person in their community.
